Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars & Ukiko Kagurazaka & Kaoru Kagurazaka -- Yogiri no Air Terminal（夜霧の空の終着港）

Wikimedia Commons
from Yonezawa-shi, Yamagata

 

Just before Christmas, I put up a Hi-Fi Set（ハイ・ファイ・セット）song titled "Doyoubi no Yoru wa Haneda ni Kuru no"（土曜の夜は羽田に来るの）, one of many songs in the kayo kyoku oeuvre that talk of romance won and lost (usually the latter) at the airport. Well, this one here has the same theme but it's from a different time and style.

Of course, Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）are one of the premier Mood Kayo groups and with just their second single, they presented the melancholy "Yogiri no Air Terminal" (Night Fog Airport). Just gotta have that night fog rolling in for extra ambience. Not surprisingly, there is another final meeting of a couple before departing from each other forever although the airport in question is not specifically identified. 

Written by Takao Saeki（佐伯孝夫）and composed by Tadashi Yoshida（吉田正）, the Mahina Stars are also joined by a couple of female singers, Ukiko Kagurazaka（神楽坂浮子）and Kaoru Kagurazaka（神楽坂かおる）. Despite the identical family names, I'm not 100% sure whether the ladies are indeed sisters although Ukiko is listed on J-Wiki as being a geisha-turned-singer, much like Mamechiyo（豆千代）as mentioned in Noelle's recent article. With all the voices together and the steel pedal guitar, there is very much a mournful tone in store for listeners. "Yogiri no Air Terminal" was actually the first song that the Mahina Stars sang on the Kohaku Utagassen in their 10-appearance history on NHK's New Year's Eve special ranging from 1959 to 1989.

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